‘Since May, 2020, increasing attention has been given to the experiences of people with COVID-19 whose symptoms persist for 4 or more weeks. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), an estimated 186 000 people (95% CI 153 000–221 000) in private households in England currently have COVID-19 symptoms 5–12 weeks or longer after acute infection. The ONS estimate that one in five people have symptoms that persist after 5 weeks, and one in ten have symptoms for 12 weeks or longer after acute COVID-19 infection. Research on long COVID is growing, including into the underlying pathology, consequences, and sequelae, as well as rehabilitation for patients. Evidence suggests that a considerable proportion of people with long COVID have severe complications. We have lived experiences of long COVID, with a range of symptoms lasting for more than 6 months...
‘Guidelines must represent the complexity of long COVID, including the areas where evidence is still emerging. Hasty attempts to rename the condition or compare it to other conditions is a disservice to thousands of people, and could result in missed pathology to the detriment of the patient. Comprehensive long COVID guidelines are essential to prevent an epidemic of long-term, chronic disease as a result of early mismanagement of pathology, and the potential implications of such an epidemic for health systems and economies.’
Read here (The Lancet, Dec 21, 2020)
